Disposable protective covers for rough plumb piping, nipples and stub-outs

ABSTRACT

A disposable, one-time use, protective cover for rough plumb piping and nipples and the like (commonly called and hereinafter referred to as “stub-outs”) that prevents the exposed potable and wastewater stub-outs from being covered with material used during wall, ceiling and floor installation, sealing, painting and finishing. The protective cover comes in sizes to fit over the outside diameter of commonly used interior and exterior potable plumbing pipe sizes (e.g., ½″, ⅝″, ¾″) and interior wastewater pipe sizes (e.g., 1″ and 1½″). Plumbers and other workers put the elastic snugly fitting disposable protective cover on stub-outs after they complete the rough plumbing. After walls, ceilings and floors and have been installed, sealed and painted, the worker doing the finish work removes the disposable protective cover from the stub-outs and has access to a clean stub-out. Using this invention will allow plumbers, workers and home owners that are completing construction projects that include plumbing to install finish plumbing without having to clean material off of the stub-outs, which will save time and money.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a device, easily installed and removed, for potable and wastewater stub-outs in building construction projects to protect stub-out from contamination during installation and finishing walls and ceiling. This invention will expedite connecting plumbing pipe onto a fitting or fixture.

2. Prior Art

It is common practice to leave pipe stub-outs uncovered when installing and finishing walls, floors and ceilings. This results in the piping and nipples becoming covered with material from installation and finishing wall and floors and ceilings. It is also common practice to cover a pipe nipple with tape, such as duct tape, or the like. The tape generally stays on the pipe until after the sheet rock or plaster, texturing and painting has been completed.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,117 covers stub-outs for protecting the outer surface of a stub-out line. The stub-out cover includes a substantially rigid, molded tubular member open at one end and closed at the other end. The prior art includes a plurality of flexible tab members inside the cover that holds the cover into the stub-out. This prior art does protect the stub-out but 1) is designed to be reused which creates a problem if the plumber doing the rough plumb work is not going to be completing the finish plumbing work because they will not be able to retrieve their protective covers, 2) because it is reusable, the prior art will become covered with debris associated with construction over time and will eventually become sullied, 3) will require plumber, because they are rigid and are typically 8″ in length, to transport the covers to and from job-site(requiring an extra trip to the plumbers vehicle) and store covers for various sized pipe when not being used, which will take up space, which is a premium, in plumbers shop, vehicle etc., and 4) is a fixed rigid member that presumable comes in at least 8″ length (Stub outs can vary in length but are generally 8″ or less), which could needlessly extend unsupported by pipe. This extra unnecessary length of protective cover could impede other workman. Furthermore, by potentially extending 4″ longer than the length of the plumbing pipe and nipple, this unsupported length may break off if bumped or knocked into during sheetrock installation and either damage the stub-out or leave stub-out unprotected.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,723 covers plumbing pipe nipples with a rigid flanged piece that is secured to the wall with screws, nails or staples. This art is a solid, flexible and made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. This art does protect the plumbing pipe nipples but 1) must be installed before any sheetrock or plaster is installed, 2) will require plumber, because they are rigid and are typically 8″ in length and are thus cumbersome, to transport to job-site (requiring an extra trip to the plumbers vehicle) and store prior to their use, which will take up space in plumbers shop, vehicle etc., 3) is a fixed rigid member that does not allow for optimal application in varying sized stub-outs (Rough plumb piping nipples (stub-outs) are cut and installed to different lengths (e.g., 4″-8″) if a reusable stub-out cover is designed to accommodate an 8″ stub-out, when applied to a short 4″ stub-out, the effect is that the reusable cover sticks out unnecessarily, and result in the stub-out cover being struck during phases of construction, which could result in the cover, the stub-out piping, or both being damaged, requires tools and is difficult to install, and 4) requires tools to install and remove and may pose a safety risk. Cutting the protective cover, which is made from solid but flexible PVC, with a razor blade at the junction where the pipe abuts from the wall, is difficult to complete and adds risk of injury (cuts) to the person doing the work or cutting or damaging wall material with tool used to remove art. Lastly, cutting the cover with a blade may result in unclean cuts and part of the protective cover to remain (jagged edge), which may also add a risk of injury. Lastly, because this art requires installation prior to sheetrock or wall installation, if a plumber forgets or chooses not to install the cover prior to sheetrock or plaster wall installation, the device cannot be used.

As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a new and improved protective cover for stub-outs that can be placed on water or wastewater stub-outs that are 8″ long or less, is elastic and easy to transport to job-site, takes up little space, is easy to place on stub-out and equally easy to remove after the wall installation and finishing is complete, as set forth by the instant invention which addresses the problems of ease of use, either before or after sheetrock or wall installation has been completed, the effectiveness in design and application of providing protection to stub-outs, as well as being easy to transport to jobsite and does not require retrieval for reuse, and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description of the drawings particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation perspective view of the invention a rolled disposable protection cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-outs that is shown before being applied (unrolled) onto a stub-out.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation perspective view of the invention a disposable protection cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-outs that is shown unrolled, but not applied to a stub-out.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation perspective view of the invention a disposable protection cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-outs that is shown partially applied (approximately 50% applied-unrolled onto) to a stub-out.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation perspective view of the invention a disposable protection cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-outs that is totally applied (100% applied-unrolled onto) to a stub-out.

FIG. 5 shows a view like FIG. 3 after the disposable protection cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-out has been installed and the wall is finished. An operator's hand is grabbing the applied disposable protection cover for a stub-out and is pulling or peeling the cover to remove said cover.

FIG. 6 shows the clean stub-out after the disposable protection cover for a potable or wastewater stub-out has been removed. The plumbing pipe is now ready for finish plumbing, without the need to clean off construction debris and the like.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Plumbing construction is generally completed in two steps. Plumbers generally complete “rough plumbing” in new and remodeled structures first. Plumbers generally install all necessary piping and the like in the location where they will eventually install the “finished plumbing fixtures.” Plumbers install pipe stub-outs that typically extends 8″ or less from walls and floors. These plumbing pipes are sealed using either pipe nipples which are, in effect, caps that are soldered on the end of pipes or by soldering a pre-fabricated copper spun-off stub-out.

After other construction tradesman complete their work (including but not limited to installing insulation, electrical, sheetrock or plaster) the plumbers return to the worksite to complete the second step- “finish plumbing.” This entails putting finish plumbing fixtures (typically sinks, toilets, showers, baths) on the rough plumb pipe and the like as well as pipes leading to waste drains. Currently, during aforementioned construction, the rough plumb pipe and nipples get covered with material (drywall mud, plaster, drywall sealing paint, wall paint, etc.). Plumbers have to spend their time cleaning these pipes before they can install the finish plumbing fixtures.

The present invention allows plumbers, once they finish installing rough plumbing, to temporarily cover each pipe and nipple with a disposable protective cover. The protective cover comes rolled up, similar to a condom, and plumbers place the protective cover over the end of the plumbing piping or nipple and roll the snugly fitting protective cover over the piping or nipple to approximately 1″ from the wall or floor. After the walls are installed, the temporary cover is approximately 1″ from the finished wall, so they can be grabbed by hand and removed after the wall or floor is painted/finished and before the plumber installs the finish plumbing fixtures,.

The covers are 7″ long, when unrolled, so they may cover typical lengths of rough plumbing piping and nipples (generally less than 8″). The protective cover can fit all plumbing pipe and nipples that are 8″ or less. The covers are made from thin rubber or latex like material, which is elastic and makes it easy to unroll (install or apply), yet are resistant (will not rip, crack, etc.) to typical construction conditions. The covers, when unrolled, are cylinder shaped and have an inside diameter that is equal to typical outside diameter of plumbing pipe and nipples, for both potable and waste water lines. Because the covers are elastic, they stretch over the outside diameter of pipe. They are applied by hand and require no tools.

After the walls are painted, the plumber can easily remove the temporary cover by hand (without tools) by pulling or peeling the temporary cover off of the plumbing pipe and nipple. The present invention provides a temporary disposable cover that effectively covers rough plumb potable and wastewater piping, including plumbing nipples, associated with residential, commercial and industrial construction, which prevents rough plumb piping and nipples from being covered in material (drywall mud, plaster, drywall sealing paint, wall paint etc.) during installation and painting of walls and ceilings (drywall, plaster walls) and the like.

The invention is easy to install and easy to remove without tools to and from rough plumb piping and nipples. The invention will not negatively impact or impede any other required work during construction. 

1. A disposable one-time use protective cover for potable and wastewater stub-outs for commonly used diameter pipe. A rolled cylindrical sheath formed from elastic (stretchable) material is unrolled onto and snuggly fits over a stub-out, which can but may not be under pressure, to keep said stub-out free of debris or contaminants during a construction process. The disposable cover is closed on the forward end and is installed by unrolling cover onto the stub-out to approximately 1″ from the edge of a wall, floor or ceiling.
 2. A disposable protective cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-outs, as recited in claim 1, wherein the cover is has an inside diameter that is sized to the outside diameter of commonly sized potable and wastewater stub-outs.
 3. A disposable protective cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-outs, as recited in claim 1, wherein the material is latex or other elastic material that can stretch to fit over commonly sized potable and wastewater stub-outs, including stub-outs that have pipe nipples.
 4. A disposable protective cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-outs, as recited in claim 1, can be installed (applied) and removed by hand, requiring no tools.
 5. A disposable protective cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-outs, as recited in claim 1, which is color coded “blue” for cold, “red” for hot and “black” for waste and is visible when applied.
 6. A disposable protective cover for rough plumb potable and wastewater stub-outs, as recited in claim 1, which is marked in text “C” for cold, “R” for hot and “W” for waste and is visible when applied. 